We compared peritoneal dialysis effluents from 18 CAPD patients who had not suffered from peritonitis during the last 6 months (group 1) with the effluents from five patients with acute peritonitis (group 2), measuring activation markers of coagulation and fibrinolysis. These markers included prothrombin fragment F1 + 2 (F1 + 2), thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT), fibrin monomer (FM), and fibrin degradation products (FbDP). In the dialysate of group 1 we found remarkably high levels of F1 + 2, TAT and FM concomitant with a high concentration of FbDP, indicating a high rate of intraperitoneal fibrin turnover. The balance between peritoneal generation and degradation of fibrin was disturbed in untreated patients of group 2, who had significantly higher levels of coagulation markers and a higher ratio between FM and FbDP. Seven days after treatment with intraperitoneal administration of antibiotics and heparin, F1 + 2, TAT, FM and FbDP decreased significantly. To evaluate the role of mesothelial cells (MC) in the high peritoneal fibrin turnover we investigated the expression of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA), plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1), and tissue factor in cultured human peritoneal MC under basal conditions and after exposure to tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), or bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The exposure of MC to TNF alpha or to a lesser extent IL-1 alpha or LPS reduced their fibrinolytic activity by decreasing t-PA production and increasing PAI-1 synthesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)